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Castle Review: I HATE the Dress!

There were so many things to love about Castle Season 6 Episode 14 that I almost feel bad pointing out the things that bothered me.

I'm going to do it anyway... but let's start with the positive.

The murder of the week had plenty of twists, turns and interesting suspects, though none were better than Matilda King. What could have come across as a caricature actually turned out to be a fascinating woman with more depth than I expected.

First off, she immediately remembered Kate Beckett. She said she'd never forget those cheekbones (who could?) or the fact that Kate was the one person who turned Matilda down when she was offered her big break. I'm sure that doesn't happen often.

The fact that Matilda would bug her employees' homes so that she could listen to the recordings herself seemed a little far fetched. Not so much the illegal surveillance but that Matilda would do the listening. That would be incredibly boring and take up far too many hours. What a horrible way to waste your weekends.

When I first realized that this episode would revisit the topic of Kate's short stint as a model, I was excited. Unfortunately, I never got the payoff I was hoping for.

It almost felt as though Rick already knew about Kate's modeling past because he barely had any reaction at all to the news. There was no real discussion about how she got into modeling or why she decided to leave. As a matter of fact, he didn't ask one question about it, not even to see a picture!

As a long time viewer I really enjoyed "Inventing the Girl" where Kate was scrambling to hide the photo of her modeling a tennis outfit from Castle and swearing the boys to secrecy. Castle Season 2 Episode 3 stuck in my memory for the fun of those moments and I was hoping they'd revisit a little of that. Unfortunately, it never happened here and that's where this story line missed the mark for me.

In the middle of murder, wire taps, threats from mystery men, corporate espionage, and fashion, there was Rick and Kate trying to plan their wedding. I loved when Rick shared his feelings about getting married with his mother in this Castle quote…

I just feel like I've waited long enough, Mother. I don't want to waste any more time before we take the next step.

He's been in love with Kate Beckett for a long time. Even with two failed marriages behind him, it was good to hear him express how anxious he was to make that commitment and move forward together.

Now we get to my biggest disappointment in the episode. The dress.

Matilda was correct when she said it was amazing. It was amazing that even with Kate Beckett wearing it I still hated that dress. Don't get me wrong, the silver beading was beautiful…for an evening dress. Not for a first time bride. And all of the fluffy ivory tulle on the skirt looked ridiculous.

My reaction to that dress was so strong that it almost took away from a very powerful scene. Almost.

Kudos to Stana Katic for delivering on that moment where Kate is reminded of her mother. She didn't need to utter one word. Her expressions clearly shared every heartbreaking moment and I had no doubt what she was thinking and feeling.

But when that dress showed up at her home, I found myself hoping that this apartment might blow up too just to get rid of it.

My favorite scene was when Kate went to the loft to explain to Rick what was wrong. He knew something was off and was obviously concerned. The way she shared what she felt and apologized for passing on the new wedding venue showed just how far this couple has come.

I also loved hearing how Kate believes her mother would have adored Rick. I only wish they could have spoken on that subject a bit more.

That Castle offered to postpone the wedding if she needed more time just showed once again how he'll do anything for Kate. The man has learned a lot about patience since we first met him in Castle season 1.

Now they're hoping for a spring wedding. Honestly, I feel like I'm getting whip lash. They just picked September! Will a spring wedding actually happen or will some sort of obstacle (Bracken, 3XK) get in the way? And perhaps it's a long shot but I'm still hoping on a beautiful wedding at their place in the Hamptons.

Now it's your turn, TV Fanatics. What did you think of Kate's wedding dress?

I hate it. Please don't let this be THE dress.I love it. I think it's perfect.It's OK, but not quite what I expected.

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Christine. I agree with most of what you say. I thought the final scenes were brilliant, and extremely well portrayed by both SK/NF, they have come a long way in S6, it is hard to envisage how AWM can cause a crisis between them now. Regarding the dress, I cannot say I hate, but it wouldn't be my choice, Stana has such a gorgeous figure, why not show it? Sadly, AWM has not got a history of fleshing story lines out, eg. why hasn't Kate asked about his failed marriages, why hasn't she told him how his books meant so much to her when her Mother was murdered, hopefully, this will happen at the wedding reception in Jim's speech, Why didn't we see the break up with Josh, I definitely wanted to see that, I disliked him intensely. Why didn't we see Espo, Ryan and Lainie's reaction to her going to DC, so many missed opportunities for good story telling, IMO. Hopefully, one scene we will get to see, is Kate taking Rick to her Mother's gravestone, and introducing him to her, that would be a real tearjerker, but somehow, I don't think we will see it.

final scene was nice but merely confirmed what we already knew Captain Cook! books will come in the reception speech. It is inexplicable that a 'one and done gal' gas failed to ask Castle about not one but TWO failed marriages

MJO@ ukno1stanafan•February 04, 2014 15:04

Yes! I would love to see Kate bring Rick to her moms grave, and introduce them. Didn't Kate already tell him though, ( I think in season 2) that his books helped her through her moms death? Although, I don't know if she ever told him that her mom was a big fan.. That would've been nice to see when she told him that her mom would've loved him

maria•February 04, 2014 10:09

About the dress, I just don´t like the skirt, the rest of it I find beautiful!About the episode, I enjoyed it a lot; every aspect relationship wise was awesome (loved that Kate went to tell the truth to Castle) but the case didn´t get my interest. And Christine, it´s funny you mentioned "Inventing the Girl" because i loved tha episode case wise, it had a twist I never expected!

lillian+rowles@ maria•February 04, 2014 17:04

The reason I disliked the dress was the tulle side skirt. I wish it wasn't there

hege•February 04, 2014 08:40

Hated the dress. As for the modeling thing I guess Kate has shared all this with Castle by now so why would he make a fuss about it? Case of the week was fun allthough I did guess who the killer was. Why else would Rob Estes have such a small part... Kate and Rick are so cute together! But as for Kates reaction to wearing the dress I was concerned that she was having second thoughts about the wedding. So glad she hasn't! For me I don't get why people make such fuss over weddings and wedding dresses. I am married but we just put on some nice clothes and got married at city hall and afterwards we told family and friends what we had done.What I find strage in this episode is the fact than Kevin hasn't said a word about his newborn daughter. I have to admit I was worried it would ruin the show when the let Kate and Rick get together. So glad it has changed the show but the change is good. I am also glad we don't get lots of crises in the relationship. They are secure with eachother. Loving season 6!

Castle did not know that she had been a model when she admitted it in this episode. He said, "You were a model?" or a question to that effect. You are right about Ryan's daughter. How strange! Hadn't occurred to me. He should be bubbling! I have a friend on Facebook whose wife had a daughter a year ago, and his comments and pictures every day are still totally nothing but his daughter. He is besotted. Strange that Ryan seems not to be.

Actually, Castle said, "You were a model for Modern Fashion (or whatever the name of the magazine was)." That indicated to me that he knew about her modeling, just not her modeling resume.

Christy•February 04, 2014 07:35

I wish they would have done more with Rick's reaction to Beckett's modeling career too. They could of had some pretty hilarious "classic Castle" scenes there! Totally missed out on that. I agree with Teri...If Kate loves the dress, so do I. Plus I want to believe that they put a lot of attention on the dress now because she won't actually wear it for their wedding. I just have a feeling that the writers might go with the direction of a last minute let's-just-go-get-married wedding. Also, I saw on another site that a fan pointed out that April 7th (4/7...47!!) is a Monday...that would be an awesome date for the wedding!!! Kinda hoping that happens!! (fingers crossed!!)

It is highly unlikely that the wedding will be broadcast in April. May is sweeps month. If they get married this season, it will probably be in May.

Sue Ann•February 04, 2014 05:28

Christine, you are so saying exactly what I thought! Ryan and Esposito knew she was a model, and Castle has always shown a dog-with-a-juicy-bone attitude towards finding out about that kind of thing. And this time around, the guys appeared to have forgotten she was a model, and Castle had NO curiosity? Give me a break! WHY don't the writers have to read the book of the show? Don't they keep one? Why do the fans know the show background better than the writers? And that dress!!!!! She is going to look like a float in the Rose parade, and I don't mean that in a good way. It is horrendous. I went to a wedding once. The wedding dress looked like only a harlot would wear it. (Turned out, she was, but we did not know that at the time.) This dress makes it look like Beckett ran through mosquito netting on her way to the altar, and had no time to divest herself of the tent. Appalling.

Jennifer@ Sue Ann•February 04, 2014 14:44

"This dress makes it look like Beckett ran through mosquito netting on her way to the altar, and had no time to divest herself of the tent. Appalling." That cracked me up, Sue Ann! You nailed it. Worst dress ever.

David•February 04, 2014 05:14

No to the dress. understand this is a TV dress where the choice could be almost unlimited in scope and they choose this one??Hell no!!Didn't get what Kate was trying to convey in the mirror as far as I'm concerned she could have been thinking of the night's lotto numbers.Kate hasn't changed that much the very first thing she did was revert to the old Kate when challenged by emotional issues and backed out of the wedding venue. It took her some effort to finally tell Rick what was going on. Predicting a huge drama over the wedding.More PDA (personal and public) but that's just natural for a engaged couple if the fans hadn't have kicked up a stink about it I wonder if we'd still have a sterile non touching couple.Had a small chuckle the way Kate was hiding behind Rick when Matilda walked in.Storyline was Meh, would have liked to see then explore more of Kate's past in modeling.Nice to see Martha taking a active role in wedding planning and hopes not to see PI invited to the wedding!

carbono@ David•February 04, 2014 13:30

I'm a 43 year old single dude, so I really don't know anything about fashion. To me anything looks good on Stana Katic!! David, I was thinking the same thing about the PDA; I wonder if Marlowe & co actually have seen or heard the fans complaining about the lack of it. There were 3-4 ep's in a row earlier this year that you'd never have known they were a couple.

Teri•February 04, 2014 04:15

The dress is different but if Kate Beckett likes it, so do I. She looked gorgeous in it. Let's just be happy she now had her dress.

busman66@ Teri•February 04, 2014 14:50

Kate is beautiful in anything she wears. Just check out her public appearances at award shows, movie premeirs, etc. She wears many avant guarde fashions and looks stunning in anything. But I agree she may not ever wear this dress. A case crises will come up to screw the formal wedding and they may wind up in City Hall getting married. I also vote for a wedding at Rick's Hampton's Place , but no murder this time like their last visit there!